News and Events
Meetings in 2015
January - Quarrying on the Eastern Moors: History and Archaeology - Ian Mailer
Ian's talk was based ion his recent dissertation for a Master's Degree. He began explained that the Eastern Moors, an area of about 25 Sq Km, is currently managed by the National Trust in conjunction with the RSPB. In 2011 these organisations commissioned Arc Heritage to produce a Historic Landscape Survey Report which identified around 6000 features of interest, more than 1100 quarry related. (There were also more than 600 paths, many prehistoric features and many more modern military features). Ian has looked at the quarry related features to identify, date and deduce their contribution to the locality.
The area ranges shows features from prehistoric times (e.g. clearance on Gardom’s Edge), through centuries of Millstone production (that eventually ended around 1815, the end of the Napoleonic wars, as German and French lava stone was found to a better material) right up to the late 20th century when Grindstone production ended. The evidence evaluated takes the form of physical, documentary, and survey reports (e.g. Farey 1810, Ordinance Survey from the 19th Century and census records). For example, there is a description of a dispute in 1590 over tithes between the Vicar of Hathersage and the quarrymen. The document quoted various monetary values, this enabled him to calculate the modern day cost of a millstone to be around £750.
Ian’s fieldwork had two aims: to measure additional features and to reduce variability across the survey area. For three years he worked from January to April, as later in the year the bracken obscured the features. He divided the landscape into hectare squares, and used GIS software (Geographic Information System) to document various quarry features. The results showed:
· 295 quarry pits
· 514 Scoops
· 58 Scarps
· 77 Surface workings
· 28 Bell pits
· 110 features of unknown type
Unsurprisingly these features were shown to follow the Geological Map.
Ian was also able to relate many quarries to the ancient trackways used to transport the produce, although there is little evidence remaining to identify exactly what was produced in each quarry. The census data showed that stone working was an important industry employing at least as many as agriculture and increasing as agriculture declined during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ian concluded by saying that there was much more research to be done on this topic as there is very little in the literature.
Family History Update: AS an addendum to the meeting, David Dalrymple-Smith, BHG President, briefly described the results recent research into his family tree. David had used censuses, birth marriage and death records, family documents and family trees previously published on the internet by others to research various branches of his family tree. He was able to trace one branch back to 827AD, others to aristocracy and even royalty, a fascinating account.
On behalf of the Group, Mike Woffenden thanked both Ian and David for such interesting and varied talks.
February - ‘The Story of the Sheffield Blitz’ - Suzanne Bingham, Local Historian
Suzanne's interest in the Sheffield Blitz was inspired by a reader in the Sheffield Local Studies library telling her that ‘Sheffield has never recovered from the Blitz’.
She reminded us of the years leading up to WWII, when Germany secretly re-armed. Britain belatedly began to re-arm, fortunately the Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft could match Germany’s new technology. The Vickers’ works in Sheffield was the sole site making crankshaft for the Spitfire.
Germany’s initial aim was to destroy the RAF, sink the Royal Navy and invade the South Coast. The Battle of Britain in July 1940 showed Germany that British radar was more advanced than realised and invasion was postponed until 1941. London was bombed: 12,000 were killed, 20,000 badly injured and 90% of central London was damaged or destroyed. A change of tactics during October and November 1940 saw other cities such as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton being bombed.
Preparations for possible bombing were made in Sheffield. The first attack was 18 August 1940, the last 28 July 1942; in this time 130 alerts were sounded of which 16 were genuine. On Thursday, 12 December 1940 the Germans pointed a radio beam used to guide their bombers at the Duke of Wellington pub on Carlisle Street. The British succeeded in bending this beam away from this industrial area but unfortunately towards the city centre. The raid, ‘Operation Crucible’, began with a red alert at 7pm, the first pathfinder aircraft dropping parachute flares at 7.05pm. Those carrying high explosives arrived at 8pm and the raid lasted for 9 hours.
Suzanne put this in a local context by explaining that Thursday was payday so the city centre was busy. However by 8pm places of entertainment were closed and by 9pm the city centre was evacuated. The Moor, Moorhead and High Street suffered 3 direct hits in 15 minutes. Sheffield’s architectural heritage was badly affected: Georgian buildings on Campo Lane and Tudor and Stuart buildings on Angel Street and King Street were all destroyed. The 7-storey Marples store took a direct hit and at least 70 were killed; the site was to remain derelict for 19 years. However the Town Hall, City Hall, Cathedral, Fargate and Leopold Street survived. The Southern suburbs also suffered. The all clear finally sounded at 4am.
The usual second attack ‘double strike’ tactic began on 15 December between 7-10pm. This time it was aimed at the East End’s steel industry. The city was better prepared and steel production was delayed by only a few days. The Northern suburbs also suffered this time.
In total 668 civilians died, 92 were missing and 40,000 were made homeless in the two raids. The city received visits from the King and Queen and Winston Churchill. Devonshire Green was set aside as a memorial green space. Rebuilding began in the 1960s and 1970s with the architectural concepts of that time, such as the ‘Hole in the Road’ and ‘Streets in the Sky’. These, in turn, have now been demolished, perhaps proving that the statement ‘Sheffield has never recovered from the Blitz’ is true, even today.
Mike Woffenden thanked Suzanne for such an informative, well illustrated and detailed account of an event that everyone had heard of but few knew in any detail.
March - Walking Through Derbyshire's History and Beyond - John Merrill
John is a nationally renowned long-distance walker. He told us his life story.
He was adopted, brought up in Ecclesall and sent to Westbourne School, where he first enjoyed walking in the Rivelin Valley. After a disagreement with the head, he was expelled aged 7 and no school in Sheffield would take him, so he was sent to a boarding school in Harrogate, which proved an ideal with its proximity to the Yorkshire Dales. He excelled at sport but failed Common Entrance, so he went to a Quaker boarding school in Wetherby, which allowed a good deal of freedom (though he was still bottom of the class). As a ‘punishment’ for climbing up the school buildings, his head sent him on an Outward Bound course in the Lake District. His father arranged a trip to Norway where he worked towards a Guide’s certificate. After failing 8 ‘O’ levels twice, (though he passed pottery eventually) he went into his father’s firm.
His first long distance walk was 200 miles around the Isle of Mull, after which he gave his father 6 months notice. He started writing articles about walks in Derbyshire which sold very well. His first book sold 9500 copies. He then split it into two : Short Circular walks and Long Circular Walks which sold 95,000 and 65,000 copies respectively. These are still in print.
He then started walks of 1000 miles or more, and wrote about them e.g. 1600 miles of the West Coast of Ireland, a route linking the National Parks, and most demanding of all the 6160 miles of the UK mainland Coastal Path using no ferries or motorway bridges. This took eighteen months of planning. He tried to check the distance with the Ordinance Survey, but they replied after six months that they agreed with his estimate! As preparation, he walked from Land’s End to John of Groats (1600 miles!) and broke in four new pairs of walking boots by walking the Pennine Way in each pair. He posted equipment such as maps, camera film and socks on to various points along the route. He started and finished at St Paul’s Cathedral and was met with massive publicity. There was also a big reception back home in Winster. He then spent five months writing a book of this walk.
Other long walks he has completed include the Appalachian trail (2500mls), Mexico to Canada (3500mls), across Europe and across the USA.
John estimates he has, so far, covered 212,000miles and worn out 1600 pairs of socks, 200 pairs of boots and 47 rucksacks. He never carries water or drinks whilst walking. He ended with a modicum of history by emphasising the opportunities afforded by his walks. In Derbyshire he had investigated ancient settlements, aircraft wrecks on Kinder, lost villages, lost industries and natural history.
The meeting concluded with Mike Woffenden thanking John for such an inspirational talk, especially remarkable without the use of any visual aids or notes.
April - Visit to Sheffield Assay Office
A fascinating summary of the history, organisation and operation of the Assay Office was given by Emma Peragreen, Curator, Librarian and Archivist of the organisation which currently employs 60 staff, has had over 3000 visitors and handles 4-5 million items made of precious metals per year.
Emma explained that assay began in London in the 13th century, originating in the goldsmiths and silversmiths guilds that wished to protect the reputations of their members for producing high-quality, reliable goods. The term ‘Hallmark’ originates from the practice of marking assayed goods brought into the central ‘Hall’ of the guilds. Legislation on the activity in 1238 is the earliest known form of consumer protection. The original marks depicted the individual craftsman, the fineness of the metal and the stamp of the office. These three remain mandatory marks to this day, but other optional marks (including the year made and generic marks for material, such as a ‘lion rampant’ for sterling silver) may also be added.
A second assay office was opened in Edinburgh in the 1500s followed by other local or regional offices, at one time up to 30. The mechanisation of the Industrial Revolution led to rapid expansion in production with increasing demands for local offices, particularly in Sheffield (468 manufacturers of plated or sterling silver in the 1760s) and Birmingham. Despite opposition from the London Goldsmith’s Company, an Act of Parliament in 1773 formally granted Sheffield (and Birmingham) the right to assay silver. These four cities remain the assay centres in the UK to this day. Further Acts allowed the assay of gold (1904), platinum (1975) and palladium (2009).
The original mark denoting the Sheffield Office was a ‘crown’ but after 1904, Sheffield was also identified by a ‘rose’, as the generic mark for gold (which began to be assayed in that year) was also a ‘crown’. So, for a time, Sheffield had two identifiers. To prevent any further confusion with the later addition of other metal assays and their marks, in 1975 the system changed with the ‘rose’ becoming the single identifier for the city.
The Sheffield Assay Office originally occupied a site now part of Crucible Theatre; it opened only two days a week, and for 11 years struggled to survive. By 1795 the Office had moved to Fargate (the site currently occupied by the Yorkshire Bank), then to Leopold Street (1795-1958), followed by a series of local moves, expansions and contractions reflecting the varying demands of the trade until moving to its present, purpose-built, modern site in 2008. At its peak the Office employed over 170 staff and assayed up to 12 million items per year. Many of the original Assay Office records are preserved in the Sheffield Archives.
Emma also explained the structure of the organisation, overseen by an Assay Master who appoints the “Guardians of Wrought Plate within the City of Sheffield” selected from many relevant organisations in the area, effectively a Board of Governors. Six of these have more regular functions, advising on relevant legislation, financial probity, etc. Externally, the Assay Master is accountable to the Master of the Royal Mint and the Queen’s Assay Master, whilst the Assay Office overall is regulated by the British Hallmarking Council. The Office has a collection of silver that includes at least one object for each year of its existence and, where possible, Sheffield-made. In reality it contains much more, almost a thousand pieces that, unlike most museum collections, are loaned out and used on special occasions. Currently, the collection has items on display in Kelham Island, the Millennium Galleries and in London.
Assays are performed on material manufactured abroad (90%) and elsewhere in the UK (8%) with just 2% from local manufacturers. Locally, there are still 5 large-scale, manufacturers but multiple high-end producers are registered with the Office. The Office has also set-up an assay service in Milan to service Italian producers of up-market jewellery – they still receive the Sheffield marks. The Office also carries out a number of other commercial activities including metals-assay for the general public, testing for industrial pollutants, laser-engraving a wide variety of objects and offering a smelting service with the production of purified metal ingots.
Emma finished her talk with a brief explanation of the various assay methods, including the non-invasive technique of X-Ray Fluorescence (used for batch-testing) and more invasive tests (sometimes testing to destruction) of mass-spectrometry and cupellation. She demonstrated a variety of the punches used to make the actual hallmarks and the somewhat more delicate technique of laser-engraving the marks. This was followed by a tour of the workshop and laboratory to see the techniques in action.
Mike Woffenden thanked Emma for her detailed information and patience in answering many questions from a fascinated and attentive audience. Lunch was provided before departure.
May - Visit to Sheffield Manor Lodge and Bishops' House
Thirteen of us assembled by Baslow Green at 10.00 a.m. on May the 8th, ready to board the Bakewell & Eyam Community Bus for a journey into Sheffield. Our destinations were two Tudor buildings in that city, being the Manor Lodge and the Bishops House. The bus was kindly driven by our own member, Alan Roberts, and when we arrived we had the benefit of excellent guides (being David Templeman and Ken Dash respectively) to give us comprehensive tours around both sites.
Manor Lodge is a scheduled monument, and is one of Sheffield`s most important historic buildings. The house was originally a medieval hunting lodge, set within an enormous deer park eight miles in perimeter. However it was extensively enlarged in Tudor times to become a very fine residence for the Earls of Shrewsbury, who were Lords of the Manor of Hallam, and who much preferred it to their manorial seat of Sheffield Castle, which by then was three hundred years old and damp, uncomfortable, and odorous. The new property was constructed of stone (from a quarry in Darley Dale owned by Bess of Hardwick, wife of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot) and wood (oak from trees felled from within the expanses of the deer park). There was a turreted tower house which acted as a gate lodge (still standing and recently refurbished), an outer court, two gardens (recently restored), an imposing entrance comprised of a pair of tall brick-faced octagonal towers, a long gallery with store houses beneath, a banqueting hall, a kitchen, and a guest accommodation wing (all of which are now in ruins), and various service outhouses. There is a modern visitors` centre on site, where we took lunch, with an excellent exhibition telling the full story of the Lodge over the centuries. This focuses on an item of national historical importance, namely the long years of captive custody of Mary Queen of Scots, when the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury was her gaoler, holding her very frequently at both his Sheffield Castle and his Sheffield Manor Lodge. Indeed, it is alleged (probably incorrectly) that she was imprisoned in a room in the tower house, where the still intact plaster ceiling is partially decorated with her emblem, the Scottish thistle, but it is more likely she lived in the main building.
Our second stop, the Bishops House, is a Grade II* listed, half-timbered, Tudor farm house on the edge of Meersbrook Park. Its age of 500 years or so is manifested by a distinct lean in one of its gables. The old wooden frame, the plaster in-filling, some stone cladding which was added to support a heavy wooden floor, and some of the original windows, all survive. Alterations to the building over the years can be traced in its fabric, often being subdivision to make more rooms, especially when at one point two brothers, their wives, and a total of seventeen children lived there! The house is owned by Sheffield City Council, has within it an exhibition of appropriate furniture and artefacts from Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, and is managed by the Friends of Bishops House volunteer group. By 1627, the farm-house belonged to a local farmer and scythe-maker called William Blythe. Two of his sons, John and Geoffrey, became Bishops, and hence the name subsequently given to the property, although it is unlikely either of them ever lived there when they were in office. In the mid eighteenth century the house passed to a William Shore, and continued as a farm-house up until 1886, when it passed to Sheffield Corporation as part of the new Meersbrook Park. Various park-keepers, groundsmen, and gardeners, then lived in the house for nearly a century, until 1974 when the City Council, with the aid of a grant from English Heritage, turned it into a Museum, opening in 1976.
All in all, a very enjoyable and interesting day for us, immersing ourselves for a short while in both the architecture and the people of the 1500`s.
June - Visit to Wingfield Manor
The Society visited Wingfield Manor near Alfreton, the ruins of a ‘palace’ built between 1439 and 1456 by Ralph Lord Cromwell, Treasurer to Henry VI and, at the time, one of the very largest courtyard palaces in England. The site is now under the protection of English Heritage but is on private land and access is restricted to pre-booked tours conducted by English Heritage expert guides.
A small castle had stood on the site since the 12th century but Cromwell, an extremely wealthy man, acquired it through a lawsuit in order to build a distinctive building, visible for miles around, in order to demonstrate his pre-eminent status. Cromwell died in 1456 around the onset of the Wars of the Roses, leaving no heirs and Wingfield passed to the Earls of Shrewsbury who maintained it until after the Civil War of the mid-17th century. During this period the house saw its most famous visitor, Mary Queen of Scots; confined for over 20 years on the orders of Elizabeth I to the care of the 6th Earl, husband to Bess of Hardwick, she stayed several times at the Manor.
During the Civil War, the Manor was held successively by the Earl of Pembroke on behalf of the Parliament and by the Earl of Newcastle on behalf of the Royalists. The latter proved troublesome and in 1644, the manor was placed under siege, eventually succumbing to artillery fire after which the building was ‘slighted’ (semi-demolished) by decision of Parliament.
After the Civil War the manor was sold to the Haltons, a local family who repaired the main buildings and the family occupied a collapsing ruin for over a hundred years before moving to a new mansion (Wingfield Hall) in the village leaving the manor to the occupation of farmers. The present owners live in a farmhouse at the centre of the complex.
Our guide presented this history and described the rooms of the original building (great chamber and hall, kitchen, lodgings, Cromwell’s chambers, double courtyard, high tower, observatory tower and undercroft). He explained the scene as it might have been at the time of peak occupation and the contrast between the nobility and the servants – although all were seen as part of a single community. He also explained how the building continues to be in demand as a television and film set, notable productions including scenes from Jane Eyre and Harry Potter!
July - Visit to Easton Walled Garden and Heckington Windmill
Our July meeting was a joint outing together with Baslow Garden Society.
We took a coach for the two hour trip to Easton, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. Here we saw the remains of Easton Hall, seat of the Cholmeley Family. We were welcomed by Ursula Cholmeley, who told us that the Hall was originally erected in 1592, and has been in the ownership of her family ever since. However, like so many country houses in the 20th Century, having been requisitioned as a hospital in WW1 and as a parachute brigade billet in WW2, its state and condition became such that it was no longer habitable, and was demolished in the 1960`s, although a range of outbuildings was left standing within its once beautiful gardens. In one of these, there is now a History Room, showing haunting, black and white photographs of the glorious house in its Edwardian heyday, complete with assembled estate servants, and members of the Cholmeley family. The other buildings now house a café, a shop, and a plant nursery, making it a very desirable place to visit in order to catch a sense of what country house life, and in particular the gardens, would have been like for the aristocracy around the 1900s .
For forty odd years after demolition, the walled gardens were left abandoned and became very overgrown and wild. However, in 2001 Ursula Cholmeley spearheaded the start of a restoration programme, and the long road back to order and beauty began. There followed three years of re-landscaping with heavy machinery, renovating a yew tree tunnel, a stream bed, a bridge, terraces, steps, ornamental borders, and a kitchen garden. Replanting then began in earnest, and now fourteen years later, the site displays an orchard, a rose area, an 80-metre long herbaceous border, a snowdrop bank, a cut-flower and vegetable garden, a cottage garden, and a fabulous collection of a vast array of sweet pea varieties. The latter were at their height at the time of our visit and provided a most vivid splash of colour.
Whilst members of the Garden Society remained to enjoy those splendid horticultural delights, members of the History Group went on to the nearby Heckington Windmill. This is Europe`s only eight sailed windmill, and is still in working order, regularly milling grain for specialist flour to sell to its visitors. We learnt from our informative guide, who took us right up the tower to the top floor, that the mill had originally been built in 1830. In the 1890`s, a storm blew its cap off and when repaired in 1892 the owner replaced the original five sails with eight. Subsequently, wheat grinding ceased, and then the grinding of other cereals ceased, so in 1953 the property was purchased by the County Council, for renovation as an historic listed building, and it eventually opened to the public in 1981. Further major repairs took place in 1999, and then in 2009 the adjacent Miller`s House was opened as a Visitor Centre & Tea Room. Heritage lottery money financed new sails last year. We learnt all about how the machinery worked and what all the various stages in the milling process were. Standing outside on the ground, it was indeed an awesome sight seeing the enormous wheel of sails revolving in the wind and turning the massive mill axle, with the resultant deep rumbling of the wood and iron cog-work emanating from the building.
September - Visit to Bolsover Castle
Our visit this month was to Bolsover Castle, and despite a wet start to the day, the sun was shining by the time we arrived shortly before 1 o`clock. We entered through the excellent modern Visitors` Centre, complete with shop, toilets, café, and ticket office.
Then, walking across the open lawned area to the enormous Riding House, we were first treated to a splendid display of horsemanship inside. Riders in seventeenth century cavalier costume put horses through their paces in a magnificent exhibition of dressage, to great applause from the audience. William Cavendish, the 1st Duke of Newcastle, who had built the Riding House was the foremost horseman of his time, and his horsemanship manual is still used to this day.
Next we entered the Castle`s actual courtyard, and were taken on a tour through the buildings by knowledgeable guide, John Taylor of English Heritage. Although there had been a medieval castle on the site, what we see today was largely built by William Cavendish in the 1600`s. The extensive west façade, which can be seen on its promontory from the nearby M1 motorway, is now a shell but had comprised a superb long gallery, with sumptuous state rooms behind. There were magnificent views out over the Vale of Scarsdale on that side.
We then moved on into the “Little Castle”, still fully intact, and saw the old dining room, the beautifully restored Room of the Senses, and the immaculately decorated Star Chamber Room. In all of these we heard tell of how these areas would have been used in William Cavendish`s day, with the emphasis then being on hedonistic enjoyment for the Duke and his fellow aristocrats. The high point had doubtless been when the king, Charles the 1st, visited and was given an enormous banquet.
We left through the castle`s lovely walled garden, obviously newly re-planted, with its large fountain in the centre. Our guide`s discreet hints at what the little garden rooms let into the wall had been used for by the seventeenth century party-goers, gave us a smile as we finally retraced our steps back to the visitors’ centre.
Here we enjoyed an afternoon tea, while musing over William Cavendish, the 1st Duke of Newcastle: a wealthy man who was a friend of kings; a superb horseman; a cultured poet; a builder of a pleasure palace; and a general who commanded royalist forces in the Civil War… … truly a person who had a great role in the history of the seventeenth century.
November - A History of Sheffield and District Automobile Club - A talk by Malcolm Dungworth.
Malcolm has a background in motor mechanics as a student engineer at the former Leyland Motors.
He first set the Sheffield context by giving a brief timeline of the expansion of the motor car with some other interesting local motoring history facts:
Mr Harvey Foster, of Frog Hall, Froggatt, took the first car to Madeira in 1904. Malcolm had a copy of a recently published, very well illustrated book documenting its history.
Michael showed many old photographs of motoring meets from this time, interesting for their social as well as motoring history, e.g. at the Maynard Arms, Ashopton Inn, Snake Inn and Dunford Bridge. It was surprising to hear that cars were driven along the Roman road to Stanage Pole and that Ringinglow Road was used for speed testing until the 1930s.
Hill climbs were a regular event e.g. Grindleford to Longshaw Lodge where average speeds of 37mph were achieved. These were handicap events depending on engine size, weight of vehicle, number of passengers etc.
During its lifetime the Sheffield Automobile Club also performed many valuable services such as:
January - Quarrying on the Eastern Moors: History and Archaeology - Ian Mailer
Ian's talk was based ion his recent dissertation for a Master's Degree. He began explained that the Eastern Moors, an area of about 25 Sq Km, is currently managed by the National Trust in conjunction with the RSPB. In 2011 these organisations commissioned Arc Heritage to produce a Historic Landscape Survey Report which identified around 6000 features of interest, more than 1100 quarry related. (There were also more than 600 paths, many prehistoric features and many more modern military features). Ian has looked at the quarry related features to identify, date and deduce their contribution to the locality.
The area ranges shows features from prehistoric times (e.g. clearance on Gardom’s Edge), through centuries of Millstone production (that eventually ended around 1815, the end of the Napoleonic wars, as German and French lava stone was found to a better material) right up to the late 20th century when Grindstone production ended. The evidence evaluated takes the form of physical, documentary, and survey reports (e.g. Farey 1810, Ordinance Survey from the 19th Century and census records). For example, there is a description of a dispute in 1590 over tithes between the Vicar of Hathersage and the quarrymen. The document quoted various monetary values, this enabled him to calculate the modern day cost of a millstone to be around £750.
Ian’s fieldwork had two aims: to measure additional features and to reduce variability across the survey area. For three years he worked from January to April, as later in the year the bracken obscured the features. He divided the landscape into hectare squares, and used GIS software (Geographic Information System) to document various quarry features. The results showed:
· 295 quarry pits
· 514 Scoops
· 58 Scarps
· 77 Surface workings
· 28 Bell pits
· 110 features of unknown type
Unsurprisingly these features were shown to follow the Geological Map.
Ian was also able to relate many quarries to the ancient trackways used to transport the produce, although there is little evidence remaining to identify exactly what was produced in each quarry. The census data showed that stone working was an important industry employing at least as many as agriculture and increasing as agriculture declined during the 19th and 20th centuries.
Ian concluded by saying that there was much more research to be done on this topic as there is very little in the literature.
Family History Update: AS an addendum to the meeting, David Dalrymple-Smith, BHG President, briefly described the results recent research into his family tree. David had used censuses, birth marriage and death records, family documents and family trees previously published on the internet by others to research various branches of his family tree. He was able to trace one branch back to 827AD, others to aristocracy and even royalty, a fascinating account.
On behalf of the Group, Mike Woffenden thanked both Ian and David for such interesting and varied talks.
February - ‘The Story of the Sheffield Blitz’ - Suzanne Bingham, Local Historian
Suzanne's interest in the Sheffield Blitz was inspired by a reader in the Sheffield Local Studies library telling her that ‘Sheffield has never recovered from the Blitz’.
She reminded us of the years leading up to WWII, when Germany secretly re-armed. Britain belatedly began to re-arm, fortunately the Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft could match Germany’s new technology. The Vickers’ works in Sheffield was the sole site making crankshaft for the Spitfire.
Germany’s initial aim was to destroy the RAF, sink the Royal Navy and invade the South Coast. The Battle of Britain in July 1940 showed Germany that British radar was more advanced than realised and invasion was postponed until 1941. London was bombed: 12,000 were killed, 20,000 badly injured and 90% of central London was damaged or destroyed. A change of tactics during October and November 1940 saw other cities such as Coventry, Birmingham, Bristol and Southampton being bombed.
Preparations for possible bombing were made in Sheffield. The first attack was 18 August 1940, the last 28 July 1942; in this time 130 alerts were sounded of which 16 were genuine. On Thursday, 12 December 1940 the Germans pointed a radio beam used to guide their bombers at the Duke of Wellington pub on Carlisle Street. The British succeeded in bending this beam away from this industrial area but unfortunately towards the city centre. The raid, ‘Operation Crucible’, began with a red alert at 7pm, the first pathfinder aircraft dropping parachute flares at 7.05pm. Those carrying high explosives arrived at 8pm and the raid lasted for 9 hours.
Suzanne put this in a local context by explaining that Thursday was payday so the city centre was busy. However by 8pm places of entertainment were closed and by 9pm the city centre was evacuated. The Moor, Moorhead and High Street suffered 3 direct hits in 15 minutes. Sheffield’s architectural heritage was badly affected: Georgian buildings on Campo Lane and Tudor and Stuart buildings on Angel Street and King Street were all destroyed. The 7-storey Marples store took a direct hit and at least 70 were killed; the site was to remain derelict for 19 years. However the Town Hall, City Hall, Cathedral, Fargate and Leopold Street survived. The Southern suburbs also suffered. The all clear finally sounded at 4am.
The usual second attack ‘double strike’ tactic began on 15 December between 7-10pm. This time it was aimed at the East End’s steel industry. The city was better prepared and steel production was delayed by only a few days. The Northern suburbs also suffered this time.
In total 668 civilians died, 92 were missing and 40,000 were made homeless in the two raids. The city received visits from the King and Queen and Winston Churchill. Devonshire Green was set aside as a memorial green space. Rebuilding began in the 1960s and 1970s with the architectural concepts of that time, such as the ‘Hole in the Road’ and ‘Streets in the Sky’. These, in turn, have now been demolished, perhaps proving that the statement ‘Sheffield has never recovered from the Blitz’ is true, even today.
Mike Woffenden thanked Suzanne for such an informative, well illustrated and detailed account of an event that everyone had heard of but few knew in any detail.
March - Walking Through Derbyshire's History and Beyond - John Merrill
John is a nationally renowned long-distance walker. He told us his life story.
He was adopted, brought up in Ecclesall and sent to Westbourne School, where he first enjoyed walking in the Rivelin Valley. After a disagreement with the head, he was expelled aged 7 and no school in Sheffield would take him, so he was sent to a boarding school in Harrogate, which proved an ideal with its proximity to the Yorkshire Dales. He excelled at sport but failed Common Entrance, so he went to a Quaker boarding school in Wetherby, which allowed a good deal of freedom (though he was still bottom of the class). As a ‘punishment’ for climbing up the school buildings, his head sent him on an Outward Bound course in the Lake District. His father arranged a trip to Norway where he worked towards a Guide’s certificate. After failing 8 ‘O’ levels twice, (though he passed pottery eventually) he went into his father’s firm.
His first long distance walk was 200 miles around the Isle of Mull, after which he gave his father 6 months notice. He started writing articles about walks in Derbyshire which sold very well. His first book sold 9500 copies. He then split it into two : Short Circular walks and Long Circular Walks which sold 95,000 and 65,000 copies respectively. These are still in print.
He then started walks of 1000 miles or more, and wrote about them e.g. 1600 miles of the West Coast of Ireland, a route linking the National Parks, and most demanding of all the 6160 miles of the UK mainland Coastal Path using no ferries or motorway bridges. This took eighteen months of planning. He tried to check the distance with the Ordinance Survey, but they replied after six months that they agreed with his estimate! As preparation, he walked from Land’s End to John of Groats (1600 miles!) and broke in four new pairs of walking boots by walking the Pennine Way in each pair. He posted equipment such as maps, camera film and socks on to various points along the route. He started and finished at St Paul’s Cathedral and was met with massive publicity. There was also a big reception back home in Winster. He then spent five months writing a book of this walk.
Other long walks he has completed include the Appalachian trail (2500mls), Mexico to Canada (3500mls), across Europe and across the USA.
John estimates he has, so far, covered 212,000miles and worn out 1600 pairs of socks, 200 pairs of boots and 47 rucksacks. He never carries water or drinks whilst walking. He ended with a modicum of history by emphasising the opportunities afforded by his walks. In Derbyshire he had investigated ancient settlements, aircraft wrecks on Kinder, lost villages, lost industries and natural history.
The meeting concluded with Mike Woffenden thanking John for such an inspirational talk, especially remarkable without the use of any visual aids or notes.
April - Visit to Sheffield Assay Office
A fascinating summary of the history, organisation and operation of the Assay Office was given by Emma Peragreen, Curator, Librarian and Archivist of the organisation which currently employs 60 staff, has had over 3000 visitors and handles 4-5 million items made of precious metals per year.
Emma explained that assay began in London in the 13th century, originating in the goldsmiths and silversmiths guilds that wished to protect the reputations of their members for producing high-quality, reliable goods. The term ‘Hallmark’ originates from the practice of marking assayed goods brought into the central ‘Hall’ of the guilds. Legislation on the activity in 1238 is the earliest known form of consumer protection. The original marks depicted the individual craftsman, the fineness of the metal and the stamp of the office. These three remain mandatory marks to this day, but other optional marks (including the year made and generic marks for material, such as a ‘lion rampant’ for sterling silver) may also be added.
A second assay office was opened in Edinburgh in the 1500s followed by other local or regional offices, at one time up to 30. The mechanisation of the Industrial Revolution led to rapid expansion in production with increasing demands for local offices, particularly in Sheffield (468 manufacturers of plated or sterling silver in the 1760s) and Birmingham. Despite opposition from the London Goldsmith’s Company, an Act of Parliament in 1773 formally granted Sheffield (and Birmingham) the right to assay silver. These four cities remain the assay centres in the UK to this day. Further Acts allowed the assay of gold (1904), platinum (1975) and palladium (2009).
The original mark denoting the Sheffield Office was a ‘crown’ but after 1904, Sheffield was also identified by a ‘rose’, as the generic mark for gold (which began to be assayed in that year) was also a ‘crown’. So, for a time, Sheffield had two identifiers. To prevent any further confusion with the later addition of other metal assays and their marks, in 1975 the system changed with the ‘rose’ becoming the single identifier for the city.
The Sheffield Assay Office originally occupied a site now part of Crucible Theatre; it opened only two days a week, and for 11 years struggled to survive. By 1795 the Office had moved to Fargate (the site currently occupied by the Yorkshire Bank), then to Leopold Street (1795-1958), followed by a series of local moves, expansions and contractions reflecting the varying demands of the trade until moving to its present, purpose-built, modern site in 2008. At its peak the Office employed over 170 staff and assayed up to 12 million items per year. Many of the original Assay Office records are preserved in the Sheffield Archives.
Emma also explained the structure of the organisation, overseen by an Assay Master who appoints the “Guardians of Wrought Plate within the City of Sheffield” selected from many relevant organisations in the area, effectively a Board of Governors. Six of these have more regular functions, advising on relevant legislation, financial probity, etc. Externally, the Assay Master is accountable to the Master of the Royal Mint and the Queen’s Assay Master, whilst the Assay Office overall is regulated by the British Hallmarking Council. The Office has a collection of silver that includes at least one object for each year of its existence and, where possible, Sheffield-made. In reality it contains much more, almost a thousand pieces that, unlike most museum collections, are loaned out and used on special occasions. Currently, the collection has items on display in Kelham Island, the Millennium Galleries and in London.
Assays are performed on material manufactured abroad (90%) and elsewhere in the UK (8%) with just 2% from local manufacturers. Locally, there are still 5 large-scale, manufacturers but multiple high-end producers are registered with the Office. The Office has also set-up an assay service in Milan to service Italian producers of up-market jewellery – they still receive the Sheffield marks. The Office also carries out a number of other commercial activities including metals-assay for the general public, testing for industrial pollutants, laser-engraving a wide variety of objects and offering a smelting service with the production of purified metal ingots.
Emma finished her talk with a brief explanation of the various assay methods, including the non-invasive technique of X-Ray Fluorescence (used for batch-testing) and more invasive tests (sometimes testing to destruction) of mass-spectrometry and cupellation. She demonstrated a variety of the punches used to make the actual hallmarks and the somewhat more delicate technique of laser-engraving the marks. This was followed by a tour of the workshop and laboratory to see the techniques in action.
Mike Woffenden thanked Emma for her detailed information and patience in answering many questions from a fascinated and attentive audience. Lunch was provided before departure.
May - Visit to Sheffield Manor Lodge and Bishops' House
Thirteen of us assembled by Baslow Green at 10.00 a.m. on May the 8th, ready to board the Bakewell & Eyam Community Bus for a journey into Sheffield. Our destinations were two Tudor buildings in that city, being the Manor Lodge and the Bishops House. The bus was kindly driven by our own member, Alan Roberts, and when we arrived we had the benefit of excellent guides (being David Templeman and Ken Dash respectively) to give us comprehensive tours around both sites.
Manor Lodge is a scheduled monument, and is one of Sheffield`s most important historic buildings. The house was originally a medieval hunting lodge, set within an enormous deer park eight miles in perimeter. However it was extensively enlarged in Tudor times to become a very fine residence for the Earls of Shrewsbury, who were Lords of the Manor of Hallam, and who much preferred it to their manorial seat of Sheffield Castle, which by then was three hundred years old and damp, uncomfortable, and odorous. The new property was constructed of stone (from a quarry in Darley Dale owned by Bess of Hardwick, wife of the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, George Talbot) and wood (oak from trees felled from within the expanses of the deer park). There was a turreted tower house which acted as a gate lodge (still standing and recently refurbished), an outer court, two gardens (recently restored), an imposing entrance comprised of a pair of tall brick-faced octagonal towers, a long gallery with store houses beneath, a banqueting hall, a kitchen, and a guest accommodation wing (all of which are now in ruins), and various service outhouses. There is a modern visitors` centre on site, where we took lunch, with an excellent exhibition telling the full story of the Lodge over the centuries. This focuses on an item of national historical importance, namely the long years of captive custody of Mary Queen of Scots, when the 6th Earl of Shrewsbury was her gaoler, holding her very frequently at both his Sheffield Castle and his Sheffield Manor Lodge. Indeed, it is alleged (probably incorrectly) that she was imprisoned in a room in the tower house, where the still intact plaster ceiling is partially decorated with her emblem, the Scottish thistle, but it is more likely she lived in the main building.
Our second stop, the Bishops House, is a Grade II* listed, half-timbered, Tudor farm house on the edge of Meersbrook Park. Its age of 500 years or so is manifested by a distinct lean in one of its gables. The old wooden frame, the plaster in-filling, some stone cladding which was added to support a heavy wooden floor, and some of the original windows, all survive. Alterations to the building over the years can be traced in its fabric, often being subdivision to make more rooms, especially when at one point two brothers, their wives, and a total of seventeen children lived there! The house is owned by Sheffield City Council, has within it an exhibition of appropriate furniture and artefacts from Sheffield Galleries and Museums Trust, and is managed by the Friends of Bishops House volunteer group. By 1627, the farm-house belonged to a local farmer and scythe-maker called William Blythe. Two of his sons, John and Geoffrey, became Bishops, and hence the name subsequently given to the property, although it is unlikely either of them ever lived there when they were in office. In the mid eighteenth century the house passed to a William Shore, and continued as a farm-house up until 1886, when it passed to Sheffield Corporation as part of the new Meersbrook Park. Various park-keepers, groundsmen, and gardeners, then lived in the house for nearly a century, until 1974 when the City Council, with the aid of a grant from English Heritage, turned it into a Museum, opening in 1976.
All in all, a very enjoyable and interesting day for us, immersing ourselves for a short while in both the architecture and the people of the 1500`s.
June - Visit to Wingfield Manor
The Society visited Wingfield Manor near Alfreton, the ruins of a ‘palace’ built between 1439 and 1456 by Ralph Lord Cromwell, Treasurer to Henry VI and, at the time, one of the very largest courtyard palaces in England. The site is now under the protection of English Heritage but is on private land and access is restricted to pre-booked tours conducted by English Heritage expert guides.
A small castle had stood on the site since the 12th century but Cromwell, an extremely wealthy man, acquired it through a lawsuit in order to build a distinctive building, visible for miles around, in order to demonstrate his pre-eminent status. Cromwell died in 1456 around the onset of the Wars of the Roses, leaving no heirs and Wingfield passed to the Earls of Shrewsbury who maintained it until after the Civil War of the mid-17th century. During this period the house saw its most famous visitor, Mary Queen of Scots; confined for over 20 years on the orders of Elizabeth I to the care of the 6th Earl, husband to Bess of Hardwick, she stayed several times at the Manor.
During the Civil War, the Manor was held successively by the Earl of Pembroke on behalf of the Parliament and by the Earl of Newcastle on behalf of the Royalists. The latter proved troublesome and in 1644, the manor was placed under siege, eventually succumbing to artillery fire after which the building was ‘slighted’ (semi-demolished) by decision of Parliament.
After the Civil War the manor was sold to the Haltons, a local family who repaired the main buildings and the family occupied a collapsing ruin for over a hundred years before moving to a new mansion (Wingfield Hall) in the village leaving the manor to the occupation of farmers. The present owners live in a farmhouse at the centre of the complex.
Our guide presented this history and described the rooms of the original building (great chamber and hall, kitchen, lodgings, Cromwell’s chambers, double courtyard, high tower, observatory tower and undercroft). He explained the scene as it might have been at the time of peak occupation and the contrast between the nobility and the servants – although all were seen as part of a single community. He also explained how the building continues to be in demand as a television and film set, notable productions including scenes from Jane Eyre and Harry Potter!
July - Visit to Easton Walled Garden and Heckington Windmill
Our July meeting was a joint outing together with Baslow Garden Society.
We took a coach for the two hour trip to Easton, near Grantham, in Lincolnshire. Here we saw the remains of Easton Hall, seat of the Cholmeley Family. We were welcomed by Ursula Cholmeley, who told us that the Hall was originally erected in 1592, and has been in the ownership of her family ever since. However, like so many country houses in the 20th Century, having been requisitioned as a hospital in WW1 and as a parachute brigade billet in WW2, its state and condition became such that it was no longer habitable, and was demolished in the 1960`s, although a range of outbuildings was left standing within its once beautiful gardens. In one of these, there is now a History Room, showing haunting, black and white photographs of the glorious house in its Edwardian heyday, complete with assembled estate servants, and members of the Cholmeley family. The other buildings now house a café, a shop, and a plant nursery, making it a very desirable place to visit in order to catch a sense of what country house life, and in particular the gardens, would have been like for the aristocracy around the 1900s .
For forty odd years after demolition, the walled gardens were left abandoned and became very overgrown and wild. However, in 2001 Ursula Cholmeley spearheaded the start of a restoration programme, and the long road back to order and beauty began. There followed three years of re-landscaping with heavy machinery, renovating a yew tree tunnel, a stream bed, a bridge, terraces, steps, ornamental borders, and a kitchen garden. Replanting then began in earnest, and now fourteen years later, the site displays an orchard, a rose area, an 80-metre long herbaceous border, a snowdrop bank, a cut-flower and vegetable garden, a cottage garden, and a fabulous collection of a vast array of sweet pea varieties. The latter were at their height at the time of our visit and provided a most vivid splash of colour.
Whilst members of the Garden Society remained to enjoy those splendid horticultural delights, members of the History Group went on to the nearby Heckington Windmill. This is Europe`s only eight sailed windmill, and is still in working order, regularly milling grain for specialist flour to sell to its visitors. We learnt from our informative guide, who took us right up the tower to the top floor, that the mill had originally been built in 1830. In the 1890`s, a storm blew its cap off and when repaired in 1892 the owner replaced the original five sails with eight. Subsequently, wheat grinding ceased, and then the grinding of other cereals ceased, so in 1953 the property was purchased by the County Council, for renovation as an historic listed building, and it eventually opened to the public in 1981. Further major repairs took place in 1999, and then in 2009 the adjacent Miller`s House was opened as a Visitor Centre & Tea Room. Heritage lottery money financed new sails last year. We learnt all about how the machinery worked and what all the various stages in the milling process were. Standing outside on the ground, it was indeed an awesome sight seeing the enormous wheel of sails revolving in the wind and turning the massive mill axle, with the resultant deep rumbling of the wood and iron cog-work emanating from the building.
September - Visit to Bolsover Castle
Our visit this month was to Bolsover Castle, and despite a wet start to the day, the sun was shining by the time we arrived shortly before 1 o`clock. We entered through the excellent modern Visitors` Centre, complete with shop, toilets, café, and ticket office.
Then, walking across the open lawned area to the enormous Riding House, we were first treated to a splendid display of horsemanship inside. Riders in seventeenth century cavalier costume put horses through their paces in a magnificent exhibition of dressage, to great applause from the audience. William Cavendish, the 1st Duke of Newcastle, who had built the Riding House was the foremost horseman of his time, and his horsemanship manual is still used to this day.
Next we entered the Castle`s actual courtyard, and were taken on a tour through the buildings by knowledgeable guide, John Taylor of English Heritage. Although there had been a medieval castle on the site, what we see today was largely built by William Cavendish in the 1600`s. The extensive west façade, which can be seen on its promontory from the nearby M1 motorway, is now a shell but had comprised a superb long gallery, with sumptuous state rooms behind. There were magnificent views out over the Vale of Scarsdale on that side.
We then moved on into the “Little Castle”, still fully intact, and saw the old dining room, the beautifully restored Room of the Senses, and the immaculately decorated Star Chamber Room. In all of these we heard tell of how these areas would have been used in William Cavendish`s day, with the emphasis then being on hedonistic enjoyment for the Duke and his fellow aristocrats. The high point had doubtless been when the king, Charles the 1st, visited and was given an enormous banquet.
We left through the castle`s lovely walled garden, obviously newly re-planted, with its large fountain in the centre. Our guide`s discreet hints at what the little garden rooms let into the wall had been used for by the seventeenth century party-goers, gave us a smile as we finally retraced our steps back to the visitors’ centre.
Here we enjoyed an afternoon tea, while musing over William Cavendish, the 1st Duke of Newcastle: a wealthy man who was a friend of kings; a superb horseman; a cultured poet; a builder of a pleasure palace; and a general who commanded royalist forces in the Civil War… … truly a person who had a great role in the history of the seventeenth century.
November - A History of Sheffield and District Automobile Club - A talk by Malcolm Dungworth.
Malcolm has a background in motor mechanics as a student engineer at the former Leyland Motors.
He first set the Sheffield context by giving a brief timeline of the expansion of the motor car with some other interesting local motoring history facts:
- 1885 – Karl Benz produced the first saleable car in Germany.
1895 – Charles Sandtler brought the first car to England.
1895/6 – Arthur Blyde brought the first car to Sheffield
1896 – ‘red flag’ act repealed. 12mph speed limit introduced
1904 – 400 vehicles registered in Sheffield - The first registration in Sheffield was W1. There is one surviving Norfolk car from this period W456, it is in private ownership.
- One of the best cars in England at the time was the ‘Sheffield Simplex’, funded by Earl Fitzwilliam.
Mr Harvey Foster, of Frog Hall, Froggatt, took the first car to Madeira in 1904. Malcolm had a copy of a recently published, very well illustrated book documenting its history.
Michael showed many old photographs of motoring meets from this time, interesting for their social as well as motoring history, e.g. at the Maynard Arms, Ashopton Inn, Snake Inn and Dunford Bridge. It was surprising to hear that cars were driven along the Roman road to Stanage Pole and that Ringinglow Road was used for speed testing until the 1930s.
Hill climbs were a regular event e.g. Grindleford to Longshaw Lodge where average speeds of 37mph were achieved. These were handicap events depending on engine size, weight of vehicle, number of passengers etc.
During its lifetime the Sheffield Automobile Club also performed many valuable services such as:
- charitable work with children
- campaigning for improved road safety, better road surfacing and road signs
- organising the first Sheffield motor show with talks and demonstrations
- paying for the widening of Sir William Hill
- providing WW1 ambulances and field kitchens, and taking convalescent soldiers for drives